A Tale of Pokémon
by Nemesis8791
Summary: When Alakazam, Lord of Mitonga Island, is asked by his old friend King Emboar to become his Helping Hand, he agrees without hesitation. But soon enough he discovers that Emboar is no longer the strong ruler he once was, and that he has many opponents who long for the throne of Oblivia. But there are not only dangers in the normal world...
1. Prologue: Of Ghosts and Dragons

**Prologue: Of Ghosts and Dragons**

_**Mitonda Island, Oblivia**_

It was a mistake to go to the forest.

By the time when he was still a child, Spinda often heard these stories told by the elders in his village. They were Stories about the Noir Forest and its inhabitants, the Duskulls, Dusclops and Dusknoirs. It was said that they loved to abduct young Pokémon. Then they would bring them to a hidden location, where they feasted on their fear until they literally scared themselves to death.

In those days Spinda had really believed that ghosts were real. But now that he was grown up, he believed that it was simply superstition, just like the most of his friends.

"If there really are ghosts, then why did I never see one?" Spinda asked his grandfather one day.

"Because ghosts are fearing the sun," replied the grandfather. "As soon they see daylight, they retreat to their home realm, the Distortion World. Only when the sun goes down, they dare to come into our world..."

"Well, then I have nothing to fear if I go to the woods with Gothorita," said Spinda. "We really won't stay long."

Gothorita was Spinda's new girlfriend. Some of his friends had initially disapproved the relationship, because the Pokémon with the old-fashioned black dress and somewhat strange hairstyle was considered eccentric and unpredictable. But Spinda didn't care and stayed with her. He did not regret his decision and looked forward to every second they could spend together. Now that he had a day off, Gotharita suggested taking a trip to the southern Noir Forests. Spinda immediately agreed, but when his grandfather found out, he tried to convince Spinda that it wasn't such a good idea after all.

"But you should keep in mind that ghosts are very unpredictable. Sometimes they even come out at broad day light. And their ruler, the dragon lady Giratina, doesn't even care if it's day or night!"

Spinda laughed at his grandfather, waved goodbye and went on his way. If he had only listened to the warning…

Not a single cloud covered the sky when Spinda and Gotharita entered the forest. But only minutes later the sun disappeared. It was getting uncomfortably cold, and at the same time the air became stifling. It became harder and harder for them to breath, as if the air had become liquid. Gotharita grabbed Spinda's hand and squeezed it hard.

"Please, let's go back," she said timidly.

Spinda's throat felt sore and he couldn't speak a single word, so he just nodded. At the very moment they turned around, something weird happened: Spinda was overcome by a feeling of dizziness. And it was like the whole world turned upside down from one moment to the next. Everything changed, and even the forest wasn't the same anymore. Strange creatures which the young couple had never seen in their lives appeared and surrounded them. There were more than a dozen of them.

"What are those?" asked Gotharita.

"I am Dusclops, leader of the Clan of Duskulls," answered another creature which appeared next to his companions. He was bigger and even more intimidating than the others. "And you have trespassed into our territory.

"Please don't hurt us," pleaded Spinda. "We got lost, we didn't want to come here. Please let us go, and we promise not to disturb you again."

"You are now in the Distortion World," replied Dusclops. "This is our world, therefore you have to obey our rules: Only one of you will be allowed to leave, the other one will stay here. You may decide yourselves who leaves and who stays."

While Gotharita still clung to his hand, trembling of fear, Spinda suddenly knew what he had to do. Gotharita was the love of his life, and he had to protect her, even if it meant to sacrifice his own life. His fear fell off from him. He took a deep breath, stepped forward and said in a clear voice: "Let her go, I'll stay with you."

"No, don't do that, please!" sobbed Gotharita.

"It's okay," said Spinda and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

Just as Dusclops grabbed Spinda's hand there was a flash and a rolling thunder. Out of nowhere appeared a giant Pokémon. Its long body was shaped like a snake. It had six short legs with golden tips and six long black wings in the shape of claws. A golden mask covered its face. It was frightening and elegant at the same time. All the Ghost-type Pokémon bowed.

"Lady Giratina," said Dusclops respectfully. "How may I serve you?"

"I don't want the boy," said Giratina in a voice that accepted no protest. "Bring me the girl!"

"As you wish, Milady," said Dusclops. He let go of Spinda and grabbed Gotharita's arm. The Manipulate-Pokémon screamed and tried to fight back while holding herself to Spinda. But her opponent was too strong. She lost her grip and was pulled away from her friend. Spinda tried to catch her, but one of the Duskulls attacked him with a strong Pursuit, and he fell to the floor head first.

He jumped back to his feet, but in those few seconds, the world has changed again. He was back to the place he knew. The sun was shining brightly; the air was clear and warm. A Taillow sang his happy song. Spinda desperately ran back and forth along the path, hoping to get back to the Distortion World somehow. But the access was gone.

Spinda sank to the ground and screamed.


	2. Chapter 1: Days Like These

**Chapter One: Days Like These**

_**Mitonga Island**_

Alakazam, Lord of Mitonga Island, sat in his office and carefully examined the envelope brought by the Pelipper Post in the morning. He thought he could find a hidden message by doing so. From the outside, nothing seemed unusual about the letter at first glance. It looked just like any other ordinary letter. Just the paper had a better quality than others. Only after closer examination, one could see that it had a royal stamp.

Alakazam and the regent of Oblivia were close friends since a time when he was still a Kadabra, and the king not yet king, but an ordinary Pignite. But after he defeated the former king of Oblivia, Beartic, in a battle two decades ago, and conquered the throne for himself, Alakazam could feel how his friend slowly grew distant from him. One day he heard that Emboar married Absol, daughter of the wealthiest Lord of Oblivia, Tyranitar. He warned his friend about Absol's insidious nature. But Emboar took this as a personal attack, a dispute erupted between them, and the contact broke off completely. They didn't have any contact, until this letter reached him out of the blue:

_My dearest friend!_

_How have you been lately? I must apologize for not contacting you over all these years. I would like to come straight to the point: Something has happened that requires a private conversation between us. Therefore, I will come to Mitonga Island in two weeks. My wife will accompany me, as well as our son. I hope I'm not causing too much trouble for you and your family. Let's talk about everything else when we see each other._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Emboar_

That was all, not a single word on what was so important that he had to talk about. The only real news he had learned from the letter was that Emboar now had a son and that he secured the throne this way. What was there to discuss? As Alakazam mused about the message, Arcanine came into his office. He was a giant dog with red and golden fur.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Alakazam," he said. "We just arrested a Spinda in the city, who is said to have molested a little girl."

"I'm right on my way," said Alakazam. He carefully folded the letter and put it back into the envelope, got up and followed Arcanine into the main hall which functioned as a court room.

On Mitonga Island, the third largest island of Oblivia, it was Alakazam's duty to maintain law and order. What he said was done, and he was involved in all important decisions. In the whole region there was only one person whose position was higher than his: King Emboar. During the years of his regency on Mitonga Island he earned a reputation for being strict, but never unfair. That way he received the respect from most of the residents.

Two Growlithes brought Spinda in, just as Alakazam arrived at the hall. Spinda looked rather miserable, not only because he was wearing cuffs. He looked unkempt, his fur was dirty, his ears hung down limply. A Gothitelle stood on one side of the hall, with her daughter Gothita in her arms. The mother glared at Spinda with an expression of disgust, while the girl watched her surroundings curiously.

"You are Spinda, is that correct?" asked Alakazam after having taken his seat.

When Spinda hesitated, he was pushed hard into the back by one of the Growlithes. "Answer when you're asked!"

"Yes, that's me," said the Spot Panda, it was no more than a whisper.

"Do you know Gothita, daughter of Gothitelle?"

"No, I don't," replied Spinda. Suddenly, the words came out of him like a waterfall. "Listen please, I've done no harm to her… I just wanted to talk with her!"

"You touched her with your filthy hands!" the mother interrupted him, hissing hysterically.

"I confused her with someone else!" Spinda defended himself. "I thought she was my girlfriend…"

"Don't you think Gothita is a bit too young to be your girlfriend?" asked Alakazam suspiciously.

"I told you that I confused her with someone else, didn't I?" said Spinda desperately. "My girlfriend was a Gothorita, and this girl looks so much like her."

"Why do you say 'was'? What happened to her?"

"She was abducted a week ago, by ghosts!"

A big laughter broke out in the hall. Only Gothitelle remained silent and stared grimly at him. Alakazam stayed serious, too.

"You do know that there are no ghosts, right?" asked one of the Growlithes.

"Yes, there are!" said Spinda with a cracking voice. "I've seen them with my own eyes: Duskulls and Dusclops, and they all obey the orders of Giratina! It's all true what the Elders have told me, I just didn't want to believe them!"

Again the others laughed out loud, and Alakazam had to call them to be silent.

"Well, this time I'll turn a blind eye to it," he said. "I will release you with a warning. You will stay away from little girls from now on, do you understand?"

"Yes, Milord!" said Spinda and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Milord!"

Alakazam turned to the Growlithes. "Bring him to Chansey. Ask her to do an examination on him and if needed, give him some Persim extract to cure his confusion. The case is closed, you may leave now!"

Gothitelle seemed anything but satisfied with Alakazam's verdict. "You want to let him go, just like that?"

"Yes, do you have problems with it?"

"I have indeed! He harassed my daughter and touched her in an indecent manner…"

"No, he didn't do anything like that!" Alakazam interrupted the angry mother harshly. "If you would calm down just a second and listen to your daughter's thoughts you would know it!"

Still enraged, Gothitelle turned around and was about to leave the court room when her daughter started to fidget with her short legs.

"Let me down, Mom!" she said. When Gothitelle complied reluctantly, the little girl ran to Alakazam, looked at him with her big blue eyes and asked: "Are there Dragons?"

"No, my child, there are no dragons," replied Alakazam. "They are long gone."

Gothita seemed to think about something. "Why was the man so sad?" she then asked.

"Because he lost someone he loved very much, just like your mom loves you. Do you understand that?"

Gothita nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

Alakazam stroked her gently on the head. "You're a good kid. And now go, your mom is waiting!"

Gothita smiled happily at Alakazam and ran back to Gothitelle. As the room emptied, the Lord of Mitonga Island stood up from his chair. It was then he noticed that Arcanine watched him critically.

"What?" asked Alakazam.

"It's nothing," replied Arcanine. "I was just thinking if we could have done anything to help Gothorita."

"And what could we have done?"

"Maybe we could have sent the Guardians?"

"For what?" asked Alakazam. "You know as well as me that no one survived more than two days when abducted by Dusclops' gang."

"I know," said Arcanine with bitterness. "It's just that I wished we could do more. You know, I hate my job in days like these. They make me believe that the peaceful times of Oblivia are coming to an end."

_**Sophian Island**_

There have been a lot of activities in the palace of Oblivia's northernmost island for several days now. Countless Delibirds went in and out carrying ornaments to decorate the rooms. Smeargles were in charge of painting the walls, and a Wigglytuff was hired along with his team to prepare the food for the guests who would arrive in a few days. In the midst of all the commotion was a Glalie who watched the actions attentively. Everything had to be perfect, when Lord Machamp and his entourage arrived. The first impression was the most important.

"Lord Glalie, may I talk to you for a second?" asked a soft voice.

The Face Pokémon turned around to the corpulent female with blond hair, purple skin and a red dress standing behind him. It was Jynx, the personal servant of his sister Froslass.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" asked Glalie annoyed.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you," said Jynx. "But your sister has refused to eat anything for two days. I'm worried about her. Maybe you could talk to her?"

"Yes, all right," said Glalie. "I'm right on my way."

When he arrived in Froslass' room, he saw her sitting right in front of her mirror of ice. He could see in the reflection that she has been crying. Her body was more fragile than ever. It was hard to believe that they were twins. Ever since the day she found that strange glowing stone and brought it home her appearance has completely changed.

"What's wrong with you, dear sister?" asked Glalie.

Froslass turned around to him. "What's wrong with me?" she asked. "You force me to marry this muscle guy and ask me that?"

"Do we really have to go through all this again? It the only way we can defend ourselves against King Emboar. With the army provided by Lord Machamp we will defeat him, and then Oblivia will be ours again!"

"You've been talking about nothing else but becoming king for weeks now," Froslass replied defiantly. "You are just concerned about yourself, you selfish bastard!"

Glalie was so enraged by her words that he almost attacked her with a Headbutt. But he knew that it would be ineffective on her, so he controlled himself. "How dare you calling me selfish?" he said with clenched teeth. "I'm doing this for both of us! Have you already forgotten that Emboar defeated our father and took the throne? And that father was so humiliated that he died from it? So before you insult me the next time, you should ask yourself what _you_ did for our family!" Before he rushed out of the room, he stopped again and said with his back turned to his sister: "I will be the new ruler of Oblivia, and no one will stop me, not even you!"

Frosless felt that something was falling down from her face. She reached out and caught it. It was a tear drop, frozen to ice.

_**Mitonga Island**_

Alakazam immediately knew that something was different when he came home. His wife Lilligant did not come to the door to greet him, as she normally did. Instead, she sat silently in the kitchen and peeled a large apple with a knife made of a Skarmory feather. She was completely lost in her thoughts and did not interrupt her work, even when Alakazam entered. He decided not to ask her and just sat down quietly. When Lilligant finished the peeling, she cut the apple in the middle and handed one half to her husband. They ate silently until Lilligant said:

"Garbodor is dead."

The news took Alakazam by surprise. At first he didn't know anything else to say than: "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be," said Lilligant and shook her head. "I don't know why it bothers me so much. I never liked him anyway, even though he was always kind to my sister. Does it mean I have a bad nature?"

"No, why do you say that?" asked Alakazam. "If you had a bad nature, you would not feel sorry for his death. How did he die?"

"I don't know," replied Lilligant. "He was ill for quite some time. He went to every Chansey and every Audino he could find, but no one was able to help him. Even now they have no idea about the cause of death."

The thoughts rushed through Alakazam's head. He hardly knew Garbodor. He only knew that he was very affable and dutiful. As the Helping Hand of the king he had achieved many things and received countless decorations. Suddenly Alakazam remembered the letter from Emboar. So that was the reason for his visit. Alakazam's stomach began to feel uncomfortable. He thought that maybe Arcanine was right. Maybe the peaceful times have indeed come to an end.


End file.
